0Shares

The viral sensation and frequent celebrity news headline maker, which is the brainchild of The Late Late Show host Corden and executive producer Ben Winston, was sold to Apple Music in 2016 and now, Carpool Karaoke will become the first original series on the music-streaming service.

Corden, Winston and executive producer Eric R. Pankowski were on hand during a Television Critics Association panel on Monday, January 9. The trio revealed the details on the 16-episode series, which will see a different celebrity hosting each episode.

“It was a pretty quick decision,” Pankowski said. “What James does is so special and singular. It was silly to make a full TV series, to try to replicate that or duplicate that. We fell in love with doing 16 specials. Each one was its own event.”

Differing from the Late Late Show segment, which pairs Corden in a car with a singer as they drive around town belting tunes, the series will open up to celebrities outside of the music industry.

“So many people get in touch with us, big name movie stars, saying they’d love to do Carpool Karaoke,” Winston said. “Here, it’s about taking those people who aren’t musicians necessarily.”

Among the celebrity pairings are John Legend and Alicia Keys, Seth MacFarlane and Ariana Grande, Chelsea Handler and Blake Shelton and Metallica and Billy Eichner.

Corden will also take part in an episode alongside Will Smith. In a trailer screened for press, Smith and Corden are seen singing along to the actor/rapper’s hit song “Gettin’ Jiggy Wit It” backed by a marching band.

In another change, the karaoke will no longer be solely confined to a vehicle as the celebs are free to wander about singing songs.

Corden recently revealed on his late night program that the inspiration behind carpool karaoke was a sketch he filmed for Comic Relief in 2011 with the late George Michael.

“It was the first time I’ve ever sung in a car with anybody, and it’s become a big part of my life now, and he really inspired it,” Corden said.